Maryland Dem Drops Out of Congressional Race Amid Allegations She Voted in Two States

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (TheBlaze/AP) — A Maryland Democrat has dropped out of a congressional race after the state party said she cast ballots there and in Florida in the 2006 and 2008 elections.

Wendy Rosen, 57-year-old Miami native who now lives in Cockeysville, was set to run in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District against first-term Republican Rep. Andy Harris.

In a letter to the state’s attorney general and the state prosecutor, the chair of the Maryland Democratic Party wrote that Rosen voted in the 2006 general election in both Florida and Maryland. Yvette Lewis also wrote that Rosen voted in the 2008 presidential primaries in both states.

“The Maryland Democratic Party has discovered that Ms. Rosen has been registered to vote in both Florida and Maryland since at least 2006; that she in fact voted in the 2006 general election both in Florida and Maryland; and that she voted in the presidential preference primaries held in both Florida and Maryland in 2008,” Lewis wrote. “This information is based on an examination of the voter files from both states. We believe that this is a clear violation of Maryland law and urge the appropriate office to conduct a full investigation.”

Authorities would neither confirm nor deny whether they were investigating. Rosen confirmed she was dropping out of the race but declined to comment further on the matter. Rosen was endorsed by the AFL-CIO in late August.

Now, local Democrats in Maryland’s 1st district will have to vote on a new candidate to replace Rosen by Sept. 27.

Rosen, as recently as Sunday, seemingly believed she would be staying in the race for the long haul.

“My trip to Charlotte was incredible!” she wrote on her Facebook page. “I didn’t get a moment on the floor of the arena … I spent all of my time hunting for campaign support! Everyone was so helpful from Jan Schakowsky and Ben Cardin to all of the women’s groups, environmental groups, jewish organizations. I feel re-energized for this last 8 weeks! Forward, not Backward!”